New Brighton man charged in kidnapping

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Fire marshals have arrested a second suspect in connection with a New Brighton arson case linked to a chilling kidnapping, in which the victim was ordered to repay a drug debt by prostituting herself or stealing clothes at the Staten Island Mall.

Artie Lee Sexton, 53, of the 100 block of Jersey Street, was picked up yesterday on charges of aiding a three-time convicted felon in the abduction of a woman who was stripped, tied to a chair and beaten.

Sexton, who was charged with a count each of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault, admitted he plotted with Ozan (O Black) Williams, according to FDNY spokesman Steve Ritea.

Williams, 31, of Hill Street in Stapleton, was arrested last week and ordered held without bail on charges of kidnapping, assault and robbery in connection with the abduction.

The events leading to the arrests unfolded Nov. 19 inside 42 Westervelt Ave., where fire officials said Williams was living at the time.

Williams and Sexton allegedly seized the woman and held her in the Westervelt residence over the money owed Williams, sources said.

Williams allegedly told Sexton to strip off the victim's clothes and bind her; Williams took her leather jacket, boots and jewelry, and pistol-whipped her with a black handgun, breaking her eye socket, nose and jaw, sources said.

The pair kept her there for as long as five hours before broaching their unsavory proposition: She chose the Mall.

Williams and Sexton took her in a cab to Old Navy, where they allegedly ordered her to steal clothing. She went into a dressing room to hide the stolen clothing under her own garments, then managed to alert employees to her plight, a source said.

Police investigated her claims -- until 42 Westervelt went up in flames a few hours later and the case was turned over to fire marshals.

The blaze made seven families homeless and sent 10 firefighters to the hospital. It also damaged the house next door, forcing a couple to flee with their 2-year-old child.

On Nov. 29, fire marshals arrested the man they say set the blaze: Donnell (Jersey) Weeks, 46, described as a notorious Staten Island Ferry panhandler, who was on the run from North Carolina probation officers at the time.

Weeks, authorities allege, set the fire because he had given a woman living at 42 Westervelt $4 to buy him drugs and she hadn't returned, fire officials alleged.

Sexton has an arrest record dating to 1974 with multiple felony convictions, including robbery, a fire spokesman said. He is currently on parole.

Public records show Williams has done three prison stints since 2001 -- two for robbery and a third for a 2009 felony drug possession conviction.

Williams, who was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars on the drug conviction, was released to parole in June 2010.